Field Marks:Simple colour pattern of large, widespaced rusty brown spots and obscure dark saddles on a light brown background, head rather narrow and not greatly flattened, snout narrowly parabolic, short, and rounded but not pointed or upturned, nostrils well separated from each other and from mouth, without nasoral grooves, eyes close to horizontal head rim, gill slitslateral, labial furrows short but present on both jaws, claspers of males with apron formed from fused pelvic inner margins, dorsal fins equally large, with origin of first over or behind pelvic insertions, anal fin somewhat larger than second dorsal fin and with its base partly in front of second dorsalbase, no supracaudal crests of denticles, cranium without supraorbital crests.

Diagnostic Features:Snout more rounded. Claspers rather stout, moderately long, and pointed. Colour pattern of back and sides of scattered large rusty spots and saddles on light brown background, light below.

Geographical Distribution:Western South Pacific: Australia (southern New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, South and southern Western Australia).

Habitatand Biology:A widespread, common but littleknown bottom-dwelling catshark, on the temperate Australian continental shelf from close inshore to offshore, depth range 26 (or less) to 175 m; described as preferring firm bottom. Oviparous.

Whitley, G.P., 1940. The fishes of Australia. Part 1. The sharks, rays, devilfish, and other primitive fishes of Australia and New Zealand. Australian zoology handbooks. Mozman, Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales, 280 p.